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I believe in angels,
The kind that heaven sends,
I am surrounded by angels,
But I call them friends.
~Anonymous
Hello my darlings, how very kind of you to shower me with your sweet comments and emails. As I waited for my check-up, my phone kept beeping alerting me of new incoming messages. I read your comments as they came in and with each beep, my spirits lifted and I felt happier and happier. I truly am a lucky girl to have such a caring circle of friends. Thank you my angels ♥♥♥
Longing for spring
Awake, thou wintry earth
I am feeling so low today with no inclination to do anything. I am dreading my annual check-up later this afternoon and truth be told, I am tired of this cold weather. I keep looking for signs of spring, I have seen a small movement in the daffodil borders and have heard low chirping of birds outside of my cottage, other then that nothing...just cold icy weather. I miss the delicious scent of hyacinths and the yellow, blue, green, pink colours of spring. Daffs, snowdrops, tulips, pansies, hyacinths, I miss you all so much. These gorgeous photos cheered me up somewhat. I hope they brighten your day my darlings.
It's baking day at Rose Tea Cottage
Several years ago, I tried a delicious cake at Selworthy Green called Periwinkle's Victoria Sandwich. Since then I have tried to duplicate that spongey goodness with little success...until now. You see, one of the recipes Aunt Millie shared with me was for a Victoria Sandwich cake.
My darlings as promised, I am posting Aunt Millie's scone recipe. Her scones always turn out moist and delicious. Her secrets which she reluctantly revealed are the addition of clotted cream and the temperature of the wet ingredients... milk, clotted cream and butter. You see Aunt Millie ensures these three ingredients are extremely cold prior to adding them to the dry ingredients. Lastly, she allows the unbaked scones to rest for 15 minutes prior to baking. Aunt Millie insists that thick yellow Devon clotted creme should be used, however; you may stand-in 5 tablespoon of double or heavy cream or crème fraiche instead.
Heat oven to 200º C or 400º F
Shift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl
Rub the butter and sugar into the flour to form a fine crumble
Make a well in the centre and add the milk and the clotted cream
Knead gently together, being careful not to overmix
On a floured surface roll out the dough to 1.5 cm or 1/2 inch thickness
Dip a 6 cm round cutter into flour to prevent dough sticking
Stamp out as many scones as you can
Gently press leftover dough pieces together and roll out again
Repeat cutting out more scones
Place on a greased baking sheet and brush the tops with the egg yolk
Allow to stand for 15 minutes
Bake for 15-18 minutes, until light golden & hollow when tapped on top
Serve warm with clotted cream and jam
Cathy and I had a marvellous time at Foxglove. Aunt Millie is a gracious hostess who simply adores the ceremony of afternoon tea and honours all the formalities. She takes great care over setting her tea table. She uses her white lace tablecloth and her pink rose adorned vintage china. Her silver is always polished to a high gleam and her floral arrangement placed elegantly in the middle of the table, with the milk jug and sugar bowl set just so.
She always serves tea in her charming morning room, which is bursting at the seams with warmth and coziness. Every inch of this room is covered with her cherished bric-a-bracs. The tables carry scores of family photos, carefully selected and framed. Piles and piles of books, magazines and catalogues virtually cover all available space.
To one side stands a rolltop desk which Aunt Millie uses daily to send out thank you cards, invitations and letters - all the old fashioned way. Large comfy chairs are set ever so carefully in the small space. Her chairs are upholstered in muted colours with decorative frindges, cordings and enriched with loads of Aubusson pillows. Her diamond-mullioned leaded windows give the viewer the perfect glance to her quaint English garden.
Aunt Millie guards her privacy, so taking photographs of her place to use on my blog was not an option. I was, however, finally able to convince Aunt Millie to share her scone and cake recipes with me. Since I am a giving type of friend, I will post these priceless recipes later in the week.
Once again I apologise to you my lovely friends for neglecting my blog duties. My cousin and I had a marvellous time and I must say, I am sorry our time together is coming to an end. She is now packed and ready to leave for home early Monday morning. Tomorrow afternoon, we are invited to take tea with my Aunt Millie at Foxglove. I am drooling at the thought of eating one of her delicious scones with homemade cream!! Other than that we have planned a quiet weekend. What are your plans for this weekend?
Wishing you a wonderful weekend and remember... 
I thank you all for graciously accepting the Most Regal Blog Award.
This week was a busy, yet fun filled week for me.
While blog hopping, I noticed most blogs have Valentine’s Day posts up. That’s when it dawned on me that January is nearly gone
Grow old with me! The best is yet to be.
I love this quote, it is one of my favourites.
For attractive lips, speak words of kindness
So don't fuss, dear; get on with it, go get beautiful!! 
Palmiers which literally mean “Palms” in French come out of the oven golden brown and flaky. The sugar on top caramelizes and gives these heavenly delights a crisp brown crust.
Due to their simplicity Palmiers pair well with other desserts such as ice cream. A simple addition of spices...nutmeg, cinnamon or cardamom further enhance their flavour.
I thank you all for an incredible year
May your glass be ever full
May the sun shine for you all day long
May you always have laughter to cheer you,
May God grant you always...
May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light
May you have love that never ends,
Happy New Year 
